ODDBALL
Real Name: Orville Bock
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Mercenary, terrorist
Group Membership: Dr. Henry Pym's Lethal Legion (Black Ant/Eric O'Grady LMD, Blizzard/Donald Gill, Bullet/Buck Cashman, King Cobra/Piet Voorhees, Lodestone/Andrea Haggard, Mortar/Liana Feeser, Piecemeal, Speed Demon/James Sanders, Sunstroke/Sol Brodstroke, Supercharger/Ronald Hilliard);
formerly Death-Throws (Bombshell, Knickknack, Ringleader, Tenpin, Throwdown)
Affiliations: Fasaud, Mark Twelve (Ultron Mark Twelve), Dr. Henry Pym, R.A.I.D.;
formerly Crossfire (William Cross), Ultron
Enemies: Loki, Madame Masque (Whitney Frost; posing as Kate Bishop), Moon Knight (Marc Spector), Sabra (Bat-Seraph), Ultron, Union Jack (Chapman);
formerly Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Avengers Inc. ("Victor Shade" aka. Ultron Mark Twelve, possessing Whirlwind/David Cannon, Janet Van Dyne), Luke Cage, Stinger (Cassie Lang), Valkyrie (Jane Foster), Vision, Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile
First Appearance: Union Jack II#1 (November, 2006)
Powers/Abilities: Oddball's powers and abilities are largely unrevealed, but presumably he possesses juggling skills similar to the original Oddball.
History:
(Union Jack II#1/Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol. 3 (Crossfire) (fb) - BTS) - Orville Bock joined the Death-Throws as the new Oddball to replace the late Elton Healy.
(Union Jack II#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Death-Throws were hired by R.A.I.D. and helped into London by Fasaud.
(Union Jack II#2) - Oddball and the Death-Throws were sent to destroy Tower Bridge. Concerned when Tenpin was taken out by Sabra, Crossfire told Oddball to continue their massacre since they were being paid by the body. Not long after Union Jack arrived in a S.H.I.E.L.D. flying car (taking out Ringleader and Knickknack), and with Sabra, took Oddball out.
(Dark Reign Files) - Quasimodo researched the Death-Throws including Oddball for Norman Osborn.
(Loki: Agent of Asgard#8) - Oddball joined the Death-Throws, led by Ringleader, in a heist at the Big Top Casino in Las Vegas. They were thwarted by Loki when he hit a knockout gas ball tossed by Oddball back at them, leaving the Death-Throws behind unconscious for the authorities to pick up.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Hawkeye V#10) - Oddball attacked the Mad House Dancelub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood and robbed the guests until he ran into Hawkeye (actually Madame Masque inside the cloned body of Kate Bishop). She mercilessly beat him up and he was surprised that she used a dagger. She shot down a tent from the ceiling and buried Oddball beneath it. He nearly suffocated beneath it, but one of Kate's friends convinced "Kate" to cut a breathing hole into the tent. Oddball swore vengeance against the false heroine while he was still helplessly trapped.
(Moon Knight IX#1) - Moon Knight tossed Oddball off a building in New York.
(Avengers Inc.#5 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Henry Pym, still partially influenced by Ultron, created robotic ants with each possessing part of Ultron's code inside them.
(Avengers Inc.#4 (fb)) - Pym sent one of these ants after Oddball, who had just escaped Moon Knight and was on the phone with Ringleader. The ant seemingly killed Oddball after playing a sound file that made it seem like he was a victim of the Scourge of the Underworld. Temporarily placed in a state of seeming death he was found dead in an alley by the police, who called the special coroner for these cases. Dr. Henry Bradley (secretly Henry Pym) and his assistant (Eric O'Grady LMD) picked up Oddball. After forty hours Oddball regained consciousness and Pym gained his cooperation to became part of Pym's new Lethal Legion, who were assembled to destroy Ultron.
(Avengers Inc.#5 (fb) - BTS) - He was unaware that Pym had actually been duped by Ultron into creating the team so Ultron could use their bodies as hosts.
(Avengers Inc.#4) - Avengers Inc. (Janet Van Dyne and "Victor Shade") and Moon Knight found Pym's hideout and were introduced to his new Lethal Legion, including Oddball. In front of the Lethal Legion "Shade" seemingly turned on Pym by sticking his arm through him because "Shade" was Ultron.
(Avengers Inc.#5) - "Shade" aka. Ultron Mark Twelve purged Pym's system from Ultron's code because he felt that Ultron was sending a signal to take him over. He couldn't prevent the takover of the assembled Lethal Legion, including Oddball. Vision, Valkyrie (Jane Foster), Luke Cage, Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Stinger (Cassie Lang) and Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne) joined the battle against the Lethal Legion. Oddball got quickly knocked out by Luke Cage, but was soon up again. He was ultimately purged of the Ultron code by Ultron Mark Twelve to free him. Because the threat of Ultron was still not over Pym took the Lethal Legion to Sub-Atomica to keep planning the destruction of Ultron.
Comments: Created by Christos N. Gage and Mike Perkins.
Oddball received a profile in the Dark Reign Files handbook as a member of the Death-Throws. His real name was revealed in Crossfire's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol. 3.
Total shot in the dark here, but could Orville Bock have been the mysterious Mad Juggler prior to his recruitment into the Death-Throws as Oddball?
The other mercenaries hired by R.A.I.D. in the London attack included Boomerang, Corrupter, Ecstacy, Firebrand (Broxtel), Jackhammer, Jack O'Lantern (Levins), Machete (Mariano Lopez), Shockwave (Sneed) and Zaran (Maximillian Zaran). However, since Oddball only worked with the Death-Throws and not with the others, they're not counted as allies.
Apologies for the above image. In his debut Oddball appeared in two panels. This was the better of the two, if you can believe it.
He has plenty of images now of him in action, getting his buttocks kicked and seemingly taking a permanent rest (he got better).
Profile by G Morrow. Updates by Markus Raymond & Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS: Name has no known connections to
Oddball should not be mistaken for:
images: (without ads)
Avengers Inc.#4, p2, pan1 (main)
Union Jack II#2, p15, pan3 (first appearance)
Loki: Agent of Asgard#8, p6, pan1 (throwing balls)
Hawkeye V#10, p10-11, pan3 (beaten up by "Hawkeye")
Moon Knight IX#1, p22-23, pan5 (tossed off a roof by Moon Knight)
Appearances:
Union Jack II#1 (November, 2006) - Christos N. Gage (writer), Mike Perkins (penciler), Andrew Hennessy (inker), Andy Schmidt (editor)
Union Jack II#2 (December, 2006) - Christos N. Gage (writer), Mike Perkins (penciler), Andrew Hennessy (inker), Andy Schmidt (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol. 3 (July, 2008) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editor)
Dark Reign Files (February, 2009) - Michael Hoskin (head writer/coordinator), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
Loki: Agent of Asgard#8 (January, 2015) - Al Ewing (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Hawkeye V#10 (November, 2017) - Kelly Thompson (writer), Leonardo Romero (artist), Charles Beacham (editor)
Moon Knight IX#1 (September, 2021) - Jed MacKay (writer), Alessandro Cappuccio (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers Inc.#4-5 (February-March, 2024) - Al Ewing (writer), Leonard Kirk (Artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 07/30/2009
Last updated: 03/08/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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